Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves was criticised by GB News presenter Bev Turner, after she accused the Conservatives of "gaslighting" the nation over the state of Britain's economy.
Taking to the stage in London today, Reeves set out Labour's economic vision for the country, hitting out at Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
Addressing the audience, Reeves claimed: "The Conservatives are gaslighting the British public.
"They say we've turned a corner and they ask people to stick with the Conservative Party. But it is those very Conservatives who are set to leave the average household £870 worse off through stealth taxes and increases in council tax."
Bev Turner criticised Rachel Reeves's remarks about the Conservatives
PA / GB News
Reacting to the speech, Britain's Newsroom host Bev Turner criticised Reeves's choice of term and highlighted that 'gaslighting' is a "very tried and tested abuse technique".
In discussion with co-host Andrew Pierce, Bev stated: "It's not the kind of phrase you should really use just casually. It's not what they're doing to people."
Andrew was in agreement with Bev, as he argued: "They might be trying to mislead us into saying the economy is much better than we think, and they're not responsible for the bad bits, they're only responsible for the good bits, but I wouldn't have used the word gaslighting.
"I also think they're losing the room with it."
Rachel Reeves accused the Conservatives of 'gaslighting' the nation
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Bev took the same stance as Andrew, claiming that "not many people know what gaslighting even is".
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Bev fumed: "I think it's too opaque. It's not going to land with people because people don't really know what gaslighting is.
"By all means say the Government are lying to you or they're misleading you, or they are trying to make things look shinier and better than they are, which is what governments always do. It's not gaslighting. I think they've chosen the wrong word."
The hosts then questioned former Labour special adviser Paul Richards on Reeves's speech, and pressed him on whether he believes the term 'gaslighting' was the right word to use.
Richards admitted: "It's sort of social media word, really, but I don't think it really cuts through substantially."
Bev Turner said Rachel Reeves chose the 'wrong word' to describe the Tories
GB News
However, Richards then defended Reeves, explaining: "The main point of the speech isn't the word, the main point of the speech is that the economy is in the toilet.
"The Tories are going to try and persuade us otherwise over the next few weeks, there's some glimmers of hope in the economy with figures coming out later on, but people don't feel it."
He continued: "So I suppose what she's trying to say is that the just there's a gap between the Tory rhetoric and how people are feeling in their pay packets.
"I wouldn't fixate on the spin around this word gaslighting. It's taken from a movie that nobody's seen, isn't it? And I think most people don't even know what it really means."